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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE WEEKLY 
RALLY SERVICE 



BY 

ROBERT A. HUNT 

h 




THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 
NEW YORK CINCINNATI 






Copyright, 1918, by 
ROBERT A. HUNT 



0?C 



MAR 25 1918 

©CU494234 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

What Is It? 7 

The Plan 13 

The Study Classes 21 

A Program with a Purpose 24 

By-Products 27 

How to Begin 29 

Leadership 34 

Suggestions Worth While 36 

A Word of Experience 40 



FOREWORD 

The following pages give the story of how 
the midweek service of the Chouteau Place 
Methodist Episcopal Church, of Saint Louis, 
Missouri, was revitalized. 

Robert A. Hunt. 



THE WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

What Is It? 

At first glance of the title page, two 
answers to this question may come : 

"Just another organization in the 
church," says one, "and we are already 
organized to death. The General Con- 
ference or the Congress of the United 
States or some other lawmaking body 
will have to create a week with more 
nights, and some unseen power will 
have to endow men with superhuman 
endurance, if we are to keep up with 
and attend all of these organizations." 

"Another wild scheme to do away 
with the old-fashioned prayer meeting," 
says the very conservative man, whose 
specialty is clinging to the old things 
for the sake of the memories clustering 
about them, rather than for their effi- 
ciency to meet the needs of the age in 
which we live. 

7 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

It means just what the title page 
would indicate. It is a great, rallying 
service for all the church — men and 
women, boys and girls, young and old — 
in the middle of the week. It is not a 
fine-spun theory, merely for the sake of 
theorizing, but a new service for the 
church, born in the travail of a Meth- 
odist preacher's heart and soul, in his 
endeavor to meet the needs of a city 
church, but so pliable that it can be 
adapted to city or country church, with 
no danger of failing. It is guaranteed 
to bring success where honestly tried 
and industriously worked. It has 
worked ; it is now working successfully ; 
it will work in your church. 

It does not destroy a single helpful 
feature of the prayer meeting ; it simply 
absorbs it. It no more destroys the 
prayer meeting than a woman destroys 
the dress she is remodeling. She takes 
last year's dress, that is perfectly good 
as far as the material is concerned, rips 
it to pieces and makes it into a new gar- 
8 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

merit, which is one of beauty and service, 
and in keeping with the times. The old 
dress is all there, with perhaps some ad- 
ditions. Nothing has been lost, though 
some may not recognize that the old is 
still in use. 

The prayer meeting is no more de- 
stroyed than the old house that is built 
anew into a more commodious dwelling 
of latest design, to meet the need of this 
day. A new church was needed in a 
small town. Some objected to tearing 
the old church down, so the wise ones 
built around and over it until it was 
entirely inclosed, retaining the old in 
the new, yet the new served a purpose 
that the old never could have served. 

So this new midweek rally service 
does not destroy the prayer meeting. 
It builds around and over it, until the 
prayer meeting in any church can be 
vitalized into a real spiritual and educa- 
tional asset of the church. 

The midweek rally service is a con- 
denser. It does not add another service 
9 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

to an already burdened people, who can 
hardly find time or strength to attend 
the services already in operation. One 
of its strongest features is to be found 
in its ability to bring many heretofore 
separate church services into one great 
service with inspiring qualities, and thus 
convert many small, weak, struggling, 
noninspiring services into one great mid- 
week service which will really have a 
value in our church work. 

This service as planned and carried 
out successfully by one Methodist Epis- 
copal church, is a combination of the 
prayer meeting idea and the study 
classes that ought to be carried on by 
every church and Epworth League. 
This constitutes the main feature of the 
plan. 

Secondly, the by-products of the serv- 
ice present a pleasing feature which 
when understood will alone commend it 
to any pastor or people who find more 
church meetings than they have nights 
or strength to attend. 
10 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

Said the retiring pastor to his suc- 
cessor: "If you get thirteen people out 
to the prayer meeting, you may con- 
gratulate yourself." In a little more 
than a year from that time that mid- 
week service was having an average at- 
tendance of one hundred and twenty- 
five. Of course you will want to know 
how it was done, for the plan is so 
simple, and similar results may be ob- 
tained anywhere. 

Busy men will have time for a really 
big plan when they will have no time for 
a small one, and our business men are 
quick to recognize a plan that is worth 
while. How to get our men and women, 
both young and old, to give one night 
each week to the church was one 
preacher's problem. It is every preach- 
er's problem. 

The midweek rally service might be 
called the institute plan. People need 
to pray, but they ought to pray intel- 
ligently. To inform our people, young 
and old, on the important matters that 
11 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

every Christian ought to know is the 
purpose of the service. 

Dr. Grose, of De Pauw University, 
has a chapter on "Teaching Religion" 
in his book entitled The Outlook for Re- 
ligion, that ought to be read by every 
one who aspires to Christian leadership. 
He says: "The uninstructed religious 
mind of the present is the fertile soil for 
the growth of numberless religious fads 
— Theosophy, New Thought, Christian 
Scienceism, and various mixtures of 
superstition, pagan thought, and Chris- 
tian teaching. There never was a time 
when the apostolic exhortation, 'Be able 
to give a reason for the hope that is 
within thee/ was more pertinent than at 
the present. . . . The church's 
function, then, is the creation and the 
maintenance of Christian ideals. Men 
must be shown what these ideals are and 
what they demand in thought and con- 
duct. The church must answer by the 
slow, silent process of Christian educa- 
tion the questions which are vital to 
12 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

strength of character and peace of mind 
in every generation. ... In short, 
what is the Christian ideal of life for our 
day? To answer that question so as to 
command the intellects and arouse the 
consciences of our time is the inexhaus- 
tible and fascinating task of the Chris- 
tian minister." 1 Thus President Grose 
sums up the task of the church of to- 
day. And it is to partly meet this need 
that this institutional plan of the mid- 
week service has been put into opera- 
tion. 

The Plan 

Here is the plan briefly outlined, 
capable of adjustment to any and every 
condition: 

7:45 to 8 — Song and Prayer Service. 
8:00 to 8:45— Group Meetings for 

Study. 
8 :45 to 9 :00 or 9 :15— Short talk by pas- 
tor on some devotional topic. Ex- 



L See pp. 58, 59. 

13 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

perience meeting. Report from 
the classes. 
9:00 or 9:15 — Dismissal/ 

Let us first consider the groups for 
the study classes. Divide your Ep- 
worth League into as many classes as 
you may think advisable. It is not best 
to attempt to start with too many 
classes. You will find some natural 
divisions among your people and it will 
be best to follow them in making up the 
classes. If you have only enough for 
two classes, some plan like the follow- 
ing may be used : 

Epworth League Class No. 1 

Bible study, selected from the Ep- 
worth League Study Course. Make 
this class of the older members, per- 
haps the married members. 

Epworth League Class No. 2 

Mission study class, using the books 
recommended by the Central Office 
of the Epworth League. If you can 
14 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

maintain two Mission Study Classes, 
you can have both Home and For- 
eign Mission Classes. The World 
Outlook will be helpful in the study 
of missions. It could be used as a 
text by utilizing the back numbers. 

Ladies' Class 

This class will be made up of the 
ladies of the church and congregation 
who are not members of the League. 
Use as a study "The Women Char- 
acters of the Bible/' or perhaps "The 
History of Methodism." It may be 
possible to maintain two classes for 
women. If so they can easily be inter- 
ested in some mission study. 

Men's Class 

Christian stewardship, using as text 
Stewardship Starting Points, by Cal- 
kins, or the larger book, A Man and 
His Money, by the same author. 

Class Meeting 

An experience and prayer meeting 
15 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

service for the older people who do 
not care for the study classes. 

Teacher Training Class 
For Sunday school teachers and 
workers. The book recommended by 
the Board of Sunday Schools for this 
purpose will be found interesting. 
Also The Pupil and the Teacher, by 
Weigle, will be helpful. 

Children's Classes 

As many as found necessary to care 
for the children coming with parents. 

It was found that some mothers 
brought their children from the begin- 
ning, but there was no place provided 
for them in the plan, and as they were 
restless, the mothers were hindered in 
their enjoyment of the services. Others 
said that they would come if they knew 
what to do with their children. So 
necessity was again the mother of in- 
vention, and a class for children was 
formed and children of all ages were 
16 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

accepted and given a Bible Story hour. 
This class became very popular, so 
much so that it had to be divided into 
several classes. The older boys were 
put into a separate class, using Miss 
Robinson's Story of Bible Victories. 
You may form any number of classes 
of children and provide them with les- 
sons from the Junior League Course of 
Study. It is possible to make this the 
Junior League of your church, and 
good results will be obtained. 

It is not best to go further into the 
plan at this time, though later we will 
show how elastic the plan really is. It 
is better to start with a simple form of 
organization and make it successful and 
then expand, than to weight down and 
crush your service before you get suffi- 
cient experience to operate it. Once 
started, new ideas will come to you, and 
the growing work will demand new 
classes to be formed. 

Examine it carefully. Do you really 
think that the prayer meeting is lost to 
17 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

the church in the adoption of this new 
idea of a midweek service? Study it 
well before you pass judgment upon it. 
As a rule, the prayer meeting is poorly 
attended. The leading men and women 
in the business affairs of the church 
rarely ever come. The plan in actual 
operation has interested just these very 
people and made them regular in their 
attendance, people who were never 
known to go to a prayer meeting. 

In the church where the retiring pas- 
tor said that thirteen would be the aver- 
age number at the prayer meeting, as 
many as one hundred and eighty-seven 
have assembled for this service. Cer- 
tainly there is merit in a plan that deals 
with the fundamentals as this does and 
ministers to such large numbers. 

In the average prayer meeting the 
preacher talks longer than he ought, 
partly because he knows no better, and 
partly because he can get no response 
from the people. If he did get re- 
sponses, there are so few present that 
18 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

they could all talk and still have time 
left. 

You will observe in this plan that the 
minister will have the opening service of 
prayer and song for fifteen minutes or 
longer if he desires, and also the same 
amount of time at the close at his dis- 
posal. This time wisely used yields 
more and better results, many times 
over, than the average prayer meeting 
as it is often conducted. The actual ex- 
perience shows more prayers and more 
people participating in the opening and 
closing periods than was ever obtained 
in the old way of conducting the prayer 
meeting. 

There is a reason for this. First, a 
larger number present would naturally 
bring more response. But the other 
reason is more important. The indi- 
viduals come from these various classes 
with something on their minds and in 
their hearts. They have heard that 
which helps to create for them a vocab- 
ulary for praying and speaking about 
19 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

the things of God, and which helps to 
deepen their Christian experience out 
of which they cry unto the Lord, either 
for further light, or in praise to him for 
the broadened vision that is becoming 
theirs. They will come from these 
classes, if properly conducted, buoyant 
and happy, running over with enthusi- 
asm for the subject they have been 
studying, and a ready response will be 
forthcoming to the invitation to speak, 
if the pastor is wise in conducting this 
service. 

The class-meeting feature for those 
who desire nothing but the old prayer- 
meeting idea is an opportunity for the 
study of the different phases of Chris- 
tian experience, and has proven a won- 
derful blessing for those who attend. It 
is a good place to plant some new con- 
vert, especially one who is inclined to 
waver and is susceptible to temptation. 
The man converted late in life and who 
needs a steady growth in grace, can be 
nourished in the class meeting at the 
20 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

same time that all these other classes 
are pursuing their studies. 

Enough for the prayer meeting side 
of this partnership. It is plain to be 
seen that the old structure is in the new. 
Nothing is lost. We have simply put 
fire into the fire box, and water into the 
empty boiler, and are in a fair way to 
generate steam, to put life into what 
was a mass of machinery, and make it 
do effective business. We may have re- 
modeled the house, but we have made 
it serve the purpose of the hour and 
nothing has been lost. It has simply 
been worked over to meet the require- 
ments of to-day, rather than speaking 
to the world of a yesterday that is past. 

So, now, if we can agree that nothing 
has been lost thus far (and we ought to 
see a marvelous gain) , then all else that 
may be done on this same evening will 
be clear gain. 

The Study Classes 

No League ever tried to maintain 
21 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

Study Classes without many discour- 
agements. One of the largest problems 
to be solved is how to get an attendance 
that will justify the effort. The main 
factor in getting an attendance is the 
selection of a suitable hour for the 
classes to meet. 

Some churches have successfully car- 
ried out the plan of having the Leaguers 
meet at the church at six-thirty for a 
light lunch and then from seven to 
seven-forty-five have their classes, still 
giving them opportunity to fill any 
other engagement that they might have 
for the evening. This is a good plan 
and is brimful of merit. It works at its 
best in a church located in the down- 
town district of a large city. 

However, if the Course of Study of 
the Epworth League is worth while to 
the younger people, it will be helpful to 
others in your church who are not affil- 
iated with the League, and who would 
not feel free to come if it were a de- 
tached affair. The linking up of the 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

study course to a great church move- 
ment will enlist many in this work who 
could not get the benefit otherwise, thus 
extending the usefulness of the study 
class movement. It is not best to call 
all the classes Epworth League study 
classes, but divide your Leaguers into 
as many classes as advisable, also hav- 
ing a ladies' class and a men's class, and 
any others you can, and link the whole 
of it up to a great church movement. 

Another advantage of linking the 
study class movement up with the 
prayer meeting, is to be found in the 
fact that the larger the body the greater 
will be the enthusiasm. The service 
with the whole church interested gives 
dignity to the whole plan, and gives the 
study classes the proper recognition in 
the church. For if these study classes 
are designed to make good Methodists 
and good Christians of the young peo- 
ple, they will without doubt make better 
Christians and Methodists of the older 
ones. 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

A Program with a Purpose 

The human brain is so constructed — 
and the heart echoes the desire of the 
brain — that man is always interested 
more in that which has a definite pur- 
pose in view. A program working 
toward a definite goal is always attrac- 
tive. We are a people who want to 
know where we are going before we 
start. We must be assured that the end 
will justify the effort, and the time, and 
the sacrifice. The average prayer meet- 
ing is without a definite goal. I say this, 
realizing that such a statement will be 
criticized. It is the custom to hold it 
when a certain night comes, and that is 
the main reason it is held. No visible 
results can be ascertained for a stretch 
of many years back. There are, of 
course, exceptions to this rule, as to all 
others. But how different with this rally 
service! The keen, clear-thinking men 
and women of the church can see that 
this program will bring them something 
M 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

that is worth while, and that they are 
making a good investment of their time 
that will be fruitful in return. One 
minister said, "If we can get our people 
to study church history, Bible doctrine, 
missions, stewardship, and all the other 
fundamental things, which may be 
studied under this plan, we will have in- 
telligent audiences, that will appreciate 
our efforts in our sermons." Bishop 
Quayle said, "This plan carried out 
will make intelligent Methodists." 

Most of these study books are planned 
for eight or ten-weeks' study. This is 
well, for they do not become tiresome in 
that time. It is well to make a schedule 
of your plan, giving two months to each 
study and changing the study for each 
class at the beginning of each two 
months' period. Thus in a season of 
ten months, leaving out, possibly, July 
and August, each class will have com- 
pleted five studies. A sample schedule 
is given, which will illustrate the idea, 
but may be changed to fit any condition : 
25 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 



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WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

By-Products 

Before taking up suggestions as to 
the methods of promoting and maintain- 
ing this Rally Service, it is well to con- 
sider the other distinct advantage it pre- 
sents, and that might be called its by- 
products. Sometimes the by-products 
compare favorably in value with the 
products for which the plant is estab- 
lished. That which a person gets extra, 
without additional cost of production, 
is termed "velvet," that is, "all to the 
good." Where do we find this in the 
weekly rally service? 

The service proper ought to close not 
later than nine-fifteen. Now, here is 
the feature that is especially attractive 
to busy people who are on the board 
and the different committees of the 
church. Have all your business meet- 
ings of all the different organizations of 
the church following this service, as far 
as it is possible to carry out this feature. 
Your people are there and it will save 
27 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

them an evening or two in the week. If 
they are not in the habit of attending 
the midweek service, they will come if 
they can enjoy the service and attend to 
the business of the church in the same 
evening. Most any man would rather 
stay a little longer on one evening than 
to take a whole evening on some other 
date. Nine tenths of the business of the 
church may be conducted in this way. 
The official board could have a thirty- 
minute session twice a month, if neces- 
sary. Epworth League business meet- 
ings, committees, and even choir prac- 
tice may be arranged for following the 
service. It will soon become the custom 
to arrange for all such meetings on this 
evening. When these different bodies 
come to see the advantage and the time 
saved, they will learn to expedite busi- 
ness matters and economize their time. 

Now, while this is being done the 
others linger in the church, visiting and 
enjoying a good social time with each 
other, which is needful in most of our 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

churches. This is indeed a most en- 
joyable feature of the plan. Occa- 
sionally it will be well to arrange for 
some refreshments and invite all to re- 
tire to the basement of the church for a 
thirty-minute social. 

How to Begin 

The preacher is the key man. The 
success of the plan depends upon his 
tact and determination. He must be 
convinced that it will work. Study it 
until you are saturated with it. It will 
grow on you the more you examine it. 
The pastor should have it clearly out- 
lined in his own mind before attempting 
to outline it to others. Then when he 
has his plan completed, at least in his 
own mind, present it to the Epworth 
League Cabinet for their consideration, 
and then clearly outline the plan to your 
official board of the church. Do not ask 
for their approval of the plan, but, 
rather, ask for their cooperation in try- 
ing it thoroughly. Do not waver in 
29 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

your determination to put over this 
plan, even though some may oppose, 
for those who oppose the most strenu- 
ously will become the most enthusiastic 
supporters when once they see it in suc- 
cessful operation. After you have the 
indorsements and support of both 
League and official board, and have tied 
them to the proposition, take at least 
one month for publicity of the plan be- 
fore you change. Tell the people about 
it from your pulpit. Talk it in every 
service. If you cannot reach all your 
people by pulpit announcements, write 
them letters. Insist that they make ar- 
rangements to set aside that one eve- 
ning as a great family gathering at the 
church. Advertise it as a service for 
the entire family. They will finally 
come to designate that night as their 
church night. Point out to them that 
all services possible will be condensed 
into that one evening, so it will be con- 
venient for them. 

Do not cease the agitation after you 
30 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

have begun. Do not become discour- 
aged if you have a small beginning. The 
plan will stand the test of the people 
who stand back to see how it will work 
before they enlist. Some will call it an 
experiment and will wait to see how it 
works. Others will call it a morning- 
glory proposition that will wilt and fade 
and finally die. Never mind what they 
say. You believe in the plan. It is not 
an experiment. Keep on with the pub- 
licity, and each week send out a number 
of postcards or letters. 

Have a roll of each class and see that 
some one keeps it properly. Watch the 
absentees, and if they are out for two 
evenings, drop them a card. When you 
begin take a separate division and fea- 
ture it each week. Go over your church 
roll and your constituency list and send 
a letter or postcard to every man in your 
parish who ought to be in the men's 
class. The next week feature the ladies' 
class, or one of the Epworth League 
classes, or the teacher training class 
31 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

until all have had special attention, and 
then do it all over again. 

Here are some letters which have 
been used in promoting and maintain- 
ing a service of this nature, that will 
perhaps be helpful and suggestive: 

Chouteau Place Methodist 

,, ^ r, . , Episcopal Church. 
My Dear friend: 

I wish I could tell you how to make more 
money, or how to invest the money you al- 
ready have, so that it would double in returns, 
but I can not. 

However, I can tell you how to double your 
efficiency as a Sunday school teacher. 

God is holding you responsible for the sal- 
vation of your class, and if you are only doing 
half as well as you might, how will you answer 
God for wasted opportunities? 

The Midweek Rally Service and the teacher 
training class on Thursday evening will make 
you a better teacher, and you are defrauding 
your class if you do not take advantage of it. 
You owe it to them. 

Sincerely, 

Your Pastor. 
My Dear Friend: 

You forgot something very important last 
week. Now it is not an unpardonable sin to 
forget once, or even twice (your minister is 
apt to do that), but it should not become a 
habit. 

33 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

I refer to the midweek rally service being 
held in your church on Thursday evening. 
Mr. Hanke, our faithful treasurer, is leading a 
class in "Christian Stewardship," and deserves 
the support of every man in the church. 

If you are not here next Thursday night the 
leader will miss you, the minister will miss 
you, and you will miss something worth while. 

I will put your name down right now as one 
upon whom I can depend. 

Quit talking war and attend the Midweek 
Rally Service. It will quiet your nerves, build 
you up spiritually, and it will 

Well, come and see! 

Sincerely, 

Your Pastor. 

This little parable may be used with 
good results : 

A Parable 

A certain Preacher sat down to his type- 
writer one day and wrote a lot of Letters to 
the Absentees of his Midweek Rally Service. 

Some to whom the Letters were sent threw 
them in the wastepaper basket, and thought 
how foolish it was for the Preacher to waste 
postage on them. 

Others read the Letter carefully, and said, 
"Yes, I ought to go," but straightway they 
forgot all about it. 

Some said, "Yes, that is a Good Thing, and 
if I do not have any other Engagements I 
will go." 

33 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

Others said, "Sure, I will be there; other 
Engagements can be postponed." 
TO WHICH CLASS DO YOU BELONG? 

Leadership 

One of the most important matters 
to be considered is that of leadership for 
the groups. The pastor is the key man, 
but much depends upon the leadership. 

The ideal condition would perhaps 
free the pastor from the responsibility 
of conducting a class, to be a superin- 
tendent and overseer of all groups. 
However, it will be found necessary in 
many cases for him to conduct one of 
the classes. The minister's wife in many 
cases will be the logical one to organize 
the women's class. One minister's wife 
built up a large group of women, using 
as her subject, "The Women Charac- 
ters of the Bible." 

Produce your own leaders. Do not 
depend upon outsiders. Study your 
men and women carefully, and you will 
find some diamond in the rough. Some 
tactful, thoughtful, studious person, 
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WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

one who can command the respect of the 
people, will often develop wonderfully 
as a leader when he feels the responsi- 
bility laid upon him. 

For the stewardship class secure 
some one who practices stewardship as 
well as preaches it. For evangelism find 
some one upon whose heart's altar a fire 
is burning brightly, and in whose mind 
there is no fanaticism along this line. 

It is not absolutely necessary to have 
college professors or graduates, though 
preparation adds to efficiency, but con- 
secration, determination and spirituality 
are the necessary requirements. A 
preacher said that he had never been to 
college, but he had been to Calvary. 
Get leaders with all the preparation and 
training possible, but be sure that they 
have "been to Calvary." 

There may be some advantage in 
keeping the leaders on the same subject 
through the entire season, merely hav- 
ing them change classes at the end of 
the eight-weeks' term. It will save con- 
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WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

siderable preparation, and, better still, 
will make them experts on the subject 
they teach. When they have gone 
through their study five times, gather- 
ing new material each time, they will 
take a certain legitimate pride in their 
knowledge on that particular subject. 
The real difficulty in this will be finding 
people who are versatile enough and 
pliable enough to adapt themselves to 
all the classes. 

Suggestions Worth While 

1. Select the night for this service that 
will be convenient to the largest number 
of people. In some places Thursday 
evening will be found better than 
Wednesday, and vice versa. The pastor 
ought to understand local conditions in 
determining this matter. 

2. Have your teacher training class 
enrolled with the Sunday School Board 
of our church, and advise with them 
concerning a proper course. 

3. The Methodist Discipline would 

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WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

make an interesting study, especially 
for the men of the church, but by all 
means have the pastor in charge of this 
class. 

4. Run on schedule time! This is im- 
portant. You have no right to trifle 
with people's time! You are both the 
engineer and the conductor, and you 
must observe the schedule. A prolonged 
meeting may lose some of your people 
who have to arise earlier than the minis- 
ter usually does. 

5. It is not necessary to run all the 
studies through all the classes, though 
perhaps advisable. Special studies may 
be arranged for a period of eight weeks 
and inserted into the scheme of studies. 

6. A system of credits may be used 
and a certificate of honor given for a 
certain attendance agreed upon in the 
beginning. 

7. A preparatory membership class 
may be added if needed, with the Mem- 
bership Manual as a textbook. 

8. If you desire a study of Methodism 

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WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

for the children, a Junior History of 
Methodism may be obtained from the 
Central Office of the Ep worth League. 
This book is also helpful to adults 
making this study. 

9. For senior classes in church history, 
such books as, The Worker and His 
Church, by Beiler; John Wesley, the 
Methodist; History of American Meth- 
odism, and others easily obtained, ought 
to be in the hands of the leader as refer- 
ence books. 

10. For stewardship classes, use Cal- 
kins's books, A Man and His Money, 
and Stewardship Starting Points. The 
latter should be used as the text and the 
former as the reference book. The first 
named book ought to be read thoroughly 
by the leader. 

11. For evangelism, missions, social 
service, write the Central Office of the 
Epworth League for a list of textbooks, 
as these change from time to time. A 
letter to our Book Concern at any time 
will bring a list of books along these 

38 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

lines. In most of our cities a book is 
being prepared, giving a survey of the 
religious and economic life of that par- 
ticular city, which would be an excellent 
book to study, especially for the men's 
classes. As already suggested, make 
free use of the World Outlook for the 
mission study classes. 

12. A small duplicator may be ob- 
tained for a few dollars, ranging in 
price from three dollars and a half to 
ten or twelve dollars, which, with the 
aid of a typewriter, will assist very 
materially in carrying on the corre- 
spondence required to keep this service 
going. It will be money well spent. 

13. Brother Pastor, put yourself into 
this plan. Keep at it constantly. Get 
the vision yourself, then help others to 
see it. No plan ever worked alone. Has 
this plan ever failed? Yes, but it failed 
because the pastor did not get under 
the load, or the people did not cooper- 
ate. The harder you work the greater 
will be your success. Put yourself into 

39 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

it, for in proportion to the degree in 
which you invest yourself will victory 
be gotten out of this service. 

A Word of Experience 

The writer has tried many plans for 
his Midweek Service. Some success has 
attended all of his efforts, but the plan 
herein presented with the added sug- 
gestions for putting it into operation 
and maintaining it, is by far the most 
satisfactory and productive of all. The 
whole church has felt the uplift and in- 
spiration of this service. Before this 
plan was adopted, the midweek service 
was a real burden, a cross, and ofttimes 
a disappointment. It was approached 
with a heartache, because of the indif- 
ference of the people. Now no service 
is looked forward to with more anticipa- 
tion of real joy and satisfaction than 
the present Midweek Rally Service, 
and all because it is reaching the larger 
number of people, and is rendering un- 
told value to the church. The result of 
40 



WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

this service is partly manifested now in 
the higher conception of service for the 
Master, while part will be felt in the life 
of the church in the days to come, but 
its real value will only be told within 
the portals of eternity, where shall be 
calculated the real worth of all our 
labors as seen by all their results. 

President Grose's closing sentence, 
in the chapter of his book before men- 
tioned, is this : 

"The supreme task of the teacher- 
preacher is to give men an abiding and 
permanent sense of the moral and 
spiritual values, and to show them the 
infinite worth-whileness of life." 

These are truly words of wisdom, and 
we believe that a careful plan of educa- 
tion ought to be adopted and carried 
out in all of our churches. If this expe- 
rience, which we have tried to state 
simply and clearly, helps to make a 
program for your church which shall 
be educational and inspirational, and 
which shall give your young people, 
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WEEKLY RALLY SERVICE 

and the older ones too, a conception of 
the "infinite worth-whileness of life," 
then it has accomplished its humble 
mission. 



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